I was asked to help spread the word about thus new Infant Nutrition site. It is very informative and if you are looking for some ideas on how to better serve your child’s nutritional needs, this is a good resource!

My favorite part was the video, and all the fun facts to think on, and the complex scientific break down of a baby’s nutrition needs. Did you know that in comparison, if a grown man was to have an infants calorie needs, he would need 9000 calories per day? Fascinating! Check it out.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mead Johnson. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Hi.

My kids are puking. And feverish. Well, the older two are, I have kept the baby at arms length of the virus that is likely the much talked about H1N1. I am not the type to drag anyone to the doctor unless they really need it, and so far this is your typical flu, only very respiratory system involved.

Anyway. Kinda busy with the vomit and the two day migraine going on in my own body. So! Much! Fun!

Hmm so what is up at my place. . .

Air Force: has given us their FOURTH deadline on when they let us know if/where we move. This means that three times they have said they would do their job and didn’t. I am not holding my breath for the “by the 30th, at the latest!” Aw, heck, maybe they’ll surprise me. And then I can draw a winner!

I am re-evaluating my time and my work and my list of commitments. Going to make changes. I’m realizing that I no longer want the things I used to want, and that there are “fun” things that I don’t need any more. And I have decided this is not post partum depression or anxiety talking, it’s me, and I ought to listen. Change will be good.

I am also hyper focusing on Christmas. I did this last year as well, and think I need to chill just a wee bit. However, a broad fact has come to light over the past year. My family will be celebrating holidays on our own more often than not for the next many, many years. This has a lot to do with being military and is also personal choice. But this being the case, I really want to continue to develop the traditions that will be just ours, and not the larger family’s. I also want to make sure that I can provide the kind of pretty, festive, holidays that I grew up with, and that is hard! I grew up with a ton of extended family cooking and planning and baking and decorating- and this being alone means it’s all on me.

I know you can have a lovely Christmas with no presents or tree or table decor, but I am starting to make goals of investing in these decorations and traditions for my own little unit. I used to want to be with family. Now I want to be with MY little family (even if they’re all pukey and whiney right now). Which is good, because I am going to be with my family whether I like it or not ha!

So, last year we bought a few new Christmas items, and this year I am planning to do the same. As much as I am awestruck by the beauty that is a Pottery Barn catalog, I can’t just look at a table setting and buy the whole page. (Will I ever get to buy a page from that catalog? Can I put that on the bucket list? Right next to Ride in a Hot Air Balloon and See Norway?)

Anyway (boy I’m rambley tonight- so very sleep deprived, my readers, so tired) I’ve decided that since Gabe is here, we will get cute stockings this year. I also want to buy something to make my wonderfully pre-dinged table look like we could actually eat a holiday dinner there. . .some sort of centerpiece or table runner or ummm, placemats? Confession: I have almost no skill in the decor department. Confession #2: I have incredibly expensive taste. It has nothing to do with the price tag. Show me a room full of stuff and I will gravitate to the item with the largest price tag. Case in point? I was trying to find a tree skirt I like (I’ve tried for about four Christmases now). I was searching the web, and scrolling through page after page on Amazon when something finally caught my eye. It was a gorgeous tree skirt and a steal at only $1300. You can buy matching stockings for $300. Each. What do you put in a $300 stocking?

Like I said. Expensive taste.

It bites me in the butt.

Must tend to sick kid.

Have a good day, gentle readers.

The Air Force isn’t getting back to us on the BOP thing. We hit the 7 week mark and I asked Chris to call. They said it had been reviewed on Sept 6th and “gee, someone should have gotten back to you on that”. But no one has. So they said, “we’ll flag this and someone will get back to you in 3 duty days.

That came and went as well.

For an institution whose core value is “Integrity First”, you’d think they could at least play by their own rules, no?

So that just bites.

I have no idea when we’ll hear. In fact, if we don’t hear in a few more weeks I will probably just tell Chris to cancel the dang request and go back to the usual not having any idea whether or not the Air Force plans to move us any time soon. The amplified, hopeful version is enough to make your head explode. Imagine waiting for pregnancy test results. Now do that for two months.

That’s where I’m at.

He is a luscious baby.

Did this with the September Nook Kit- featuring Pink Paislee papers. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart butterfly punch.

Hi! I have a habit of diving into altering projects without ever taking a before picture. So you will just have to trust me when I say this was a natural wood color with metal letters screwed on it that read “letters, bills, misc”. This organizer hung by the telephone in my grandmother’s kitchen for as long as I can remember. These colors were her favorite, so in a way I made it mine, but I feel like I made it even more hers as well.

I removed the metal words (and stashed them for a future project), and then jazzed up the whole thing with black paint (I used an Elmer’s paint pen- worked perfectly for this project!) And then covered the rest with papers (pink paislee), ribbon and sparkles.

The quote is by Mother Theresa and says: “We can do not great things, only small things with great love.”

Well, with all my lazy, book devouring days this month, of course I can pull off a book review! (In fact, I could pull off about 6 this week alone. . .yes, it’s that bad). “Return to Sullivan’s Island” was one of my favorites so I’m starting there. Written by novelist Dorothea Benton Frank, this book is part of a larger conglomeration of stories called “Lowcountry Tales”, and there is a book preceding this one called “Sullivan’s Island”. The two do not need to be read in order, as they contain independent enough stories to stand alone, or to be enjoyed together.

Return To Sullivan’s Island is a story about the second generation of characters, namely Beth Hayes, an aspiring writer. She is expected to return to the large family’s now empty home, Island Gamble, to serve as it’s caretaker while her mother fills soem of her long time dreams. The house is haunted by the generations past, and is a character in an of itself that weaves its power and gives it’s opinions and services as it pleases, according to the fancy of grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles and even the long gone hired help. Weaving Southern charm and superstition, a cast of cleverly executed characters is born, and the stories they tell and trouble they find is quite interesting.

Well written and expertly unfolded, the story will keep you captivated and turning pages until the end, and does so without being terribly creepy or sensationalized. It is simple, yet quirky, comfortable yet unexpected, and a fantastic summer read!